On January 24, 1984, late Apple co-founder and longtime CEO Steve Jobs introduced the Mac to investors and the world at large, bracing to wow the nascent personal computing market while contending with intense criticism from those who said the expensive Mac would simply never fly.

“Welcome to Apple’s 1984 Annual Shareholders meeting. I’d like to begin by reading part of an old poem by Dylan, that’s Bob Dylan,” Jobs said, reciting the second verse of “The Times They Are A-Changin.’”

He was right.

Three decades later, we're still talking about the Mac. And, today, so are global news outlets, almost all of which are paying homage to the birth of the Mac this week.

Andy Hertzfeld, a member of the original Macintosh team, recalled the moment Jobs took to the podium to herald the Mac's game-changing arrival.

“Steve Jobs appeared at a podium on the left side of the stage. He was resplendent in a finely tailored black suit complete with a prominent bow tie, looking more like a Las Vegas impresario than a computer industry executive. You could tell that he was nervous as he quieted the rousing applause and began to speak,” remembers Hertzfeld. “Pandemonium reigns as the demo completes. Steve has the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face, obviously holding back tears as he is overwhelmed by the moment. The ovation continues for at least five minutes before he quiets the crowd down.”

The machine on stage thirty years ago today offered just 128 kilobytes of memory and came with a price tag of $2,495. As of this writing, Apple is one of the top global PC makers, retaining a 13.7 percent share of the market as of late 2013.